President of the EPO says Unitary Patent Still on Track

Before answering this question, I must say that one thing has always astonished me: while Europe, or at least quite a number of EU Member States, was able to adopt a common currency after a relatively short period of negotiation considering the importance and sensitivity of the issue, it seems much more difficult to obtain a common patent with a single litigation system even though this is an absolute economic and legal necessity.

First came the opinion of the European Court of Justice regarding the patent litigation system on 8 March. One could have been disappointed that the Court concluded that the project was incompatible with the EU Treaty and have feared this result could negatively impact the discussions about the further Unitary Patent. But happily this has not been the case as the EU Council, with a group of 25 Member States, took a landmark decision pushing the enhanced cooperation for the Unitary Patent, on 10 March.

This decision represents a major step forward for European innovative industry, particularly the SME’s! Of course, to respond to the ECJ concerns, policy makers will have to be creative and a transitory solution for the litigation system will certainly have to be found. From the EPO side, I can assure you that all the necessary steps will be duly prepared in order to allow the rapid implementation of the Unitary Patent.